Bluffing and Luck
by Rin-neechan
Summary: What works for Phoenix in court, works for him in poker. Extended, nondrabble version of Wright to the End.


Phoenix didn't think he could redeem himself this time. He was cornered and there was no way of getting out of this mess. He swallowed hard and looked viciously into the eyes of his opponent, Miles Edgeworth. He had been bested, again. Phoenix slowly lifted his hands off the small table in front of him, without any other move to make, he ended his turn and Edgeworth responded immediately.

"Checkmate." Miles said as he moved his queen one space diagonally away from Phoenix's cornered king. There wasn't another move for Phoenix to make.

"I win again, Wright."

"Man Edgeworth, you're good at this." Phoenix said as he sat back in his chair in Miles' office and crossed his arms in disappointment. He could beat Edgeworth in a court battle of wits, but couldn't beat him in a simple game of chess.

Chess was something they did every so often. Whenever for one reason or another, whether it be for work or leisure, Phoenix would come by Miles' office, they'd take a few minutes and play a game of chess. Phoenix always took the blue pieces that seemed spiky and Edgeworth was always the red edgey looking characters.

"Well, at least I'm getting better, huh? When we first started, you'd beat me in two moves." Phoenix said, more for himself.

"I suppose. You've gone from horrible to a-little-less-horrible." Miles' said simply as he started putting all of the pieces back in the drawers of the chessboard. Phoenix ignored his comment and was about to get up, grab his jacket and briefcase, and bid Edgeworth goodbye, but felt something in his pocket and remembered the real reason he'd visited the prosecutor.

"Hey, Edgeworth?" He said with a smug grin on his face.

"What is it, Wright?"

"You play poker?" Phoenix said as he pulled a deck of cards from his pocket and held them up for Miles to see. Edgeworth let out a small chuckle.

"Poker is the perfect game for you Wright. It requires two things. Bluffing and sheer luck."

"Comon Edgeworth, just one hand?"

"Fine, one hand Wright, I have paperwork to finish."

Phoenix's grin never left his face as he pulled the cards out of the box and placed them face down in his hands. Miles sat back down at the same table and moved the chessboard onto the floor. Phoenix held his hands out and let Edgeworth cut the deck. Phoenix the shuffled the cards three or so times and dealt.

Edgeworth looked at his five cards. His hand was hardly anything he could win with. He had an ace of dimonds, a four of diamonds, a ten of spades, a seven of diamonds, and a six of hearts. He immediately formulated possible plans. He thought the possibility of getting a second ace for a pair was lower than getting a nine or a five card of any suit to ensure a straight. He looked up at Phoenix and didn't see any sign of worry on his face, but also saw no sign of excitment. Was he bluffing and just pretending to stay quiet, or was it because he shuffled the cards too well and also ended up with nothing? During his analyzation, Phoenix looked up from his cards at Miles.

"So Edgeworth? Your bet?" He said, still seemingly calm and emotionless. Miles dug into his pocket and drew his wallet. He placed three dollars on the table in front of them. Phoenix then smiled. He reached into his own wallet and put up a tenl.

"Quite a wager for an attorney who complains about his clients not paying him." Phoenix just glanced at Edgeworth and let out a breathy laugh as Edgeworth met his wager with seven more dollars.

Miles looked over his hand once more and decided to go for a the straight. He drew his ace and placed in face down next to the large piles of cards, and drew the top card. The three of spades. He didn't get a nine or a five. He looked over at Phoenix, who dropped and withdrew three cards. He must be desperate. Miles could still pull off a straight, but this time he would need a five, and the ten would be disposable. He was one card closer, but one rank lower.

He wasn't about to give up. He could still win the twenty dollars in front of him, but it was his turn to raise the stakes. Phoenix was busy moving his cards around, probably putting them in ascending order, as Miles decided to stage a bluff and placed a twenty amongst the pile of bills in front of him. He was sure he would win this game. He was so close, and it didn't look like Wright was close to a fold either. And if he was, he was good at hiding it. But Edgeworth was used to seeing Wright in court. Whenever he was stumped, he'd sweat bullets and make odd faces. There was no such sign of worry on his face, so he was probably in for a good game.

"What'll it be, Wright? Meet my raise or fold." Edgeworth said smuggly, waiting for his rival to fold. Phoenix then looked at Edgeworth's raise and made a fatal mistake. Showed a sign of surprise. His eyes widened as he looked at the wager he had to meet or raise. Edgeworth expected him to fold, but instead Wright reached into his wallet and pulled a twenty. Edgeworth wasn't surprised.

"I suppose you can't afford to lose even a few dollars, Wright." Edgeworth said with a laugh as he focused his attention back to his hand. He glanced up and saw Wright starring intently at his cards, like he does when he's stumped and is searching the court record for contradictions.

Edgeworth placed his ten down and drew another card. The eight of spades. Edgeworth started to blame Phoenix for shuffling the cards too well, but decided to take a new chance this time. What if he dropped the three and four and went for a higher straight? He'd need a ten and a Jack. He thought for a moment about his next raise. There was sixty dollars now on this game and he thought he'd make Wright suffer a little bit more. He raised the best another twenty, trying to coax Phoenix into folding. Phoenix put on a determined face and met the wager.

Edgeworth was frustrated now. Either Wright was stubborn and refused to lose, or he had a pretty decent hand to keep meeting his wagers. Miles dropped the three and four and picked up two more cards. This game was over. Miles had drawn then ten of clubs and the Jack of hearts. He watched intently as Phoenix dropped and drew one card, rearranged them and looked up at Edgeworth.

"Call" Edgeworth said simply. Phoenix slowly dropped his five cards face down on the table.

"Sorry, Edgeworth." Miles starred at his cards for a good minute before placing his own down. Ace of spades, ace of clubs, ace of hearts, king of diamonds, and king of clubs.

"Fullhouse." Phoenix said as he gathered the bills on the table and stuffed them into his wallet. Edgeworth grabbed his wrists and unbuttoned his cufflings, expecting cards to fall out. Nothing did. He grabbed the deck and searched it for copies of Wright's hand. The cards were nowhere in the deck. Phoenix buttoned his cufflings back up, gathered his cards, grabbed his jacket and briefcase and was about to leave once again.

"Oh. Hey, Edgeworth?"

"No! I am not playing another hand, Wright!"  
"I know, I know! I really came here because Gumshoe wanted me to give you this report. I didn't read it so I have no clue was it's about. But it's been fun, we should play poker more often. See you in court." With that, Wright was gone.

Edgeworth should've known better. He said it himself. Poker is the perfect game for Wright. It requires two things. Bluffing and sheer luck.


End file.
